In the present disclosure, where a document, an act and/or an item of knowledge is referred to and/or discussed, whether directly and/or indirectly, then this reference and/or discussion is not an admission that the document, the act and/or the item of knowledge and/or any combination thereof was at the priority date, publicly available, known to the public, part of common general knowledge and/or otherwise constitutes prior art under the applicable statutory provisions and/or is known to be relevant to an attempt to solve any problem with which the present disclosure is concerned.
Outboard marine motors come in a variety of constructions and are widely used in many marine environments. Typically, an outboard marine motor is attached to a small to a midsize boat in order to function as a propulsion and steering control system for the boat. Such motor usually includes a propulsion device, such as a propeller, a turbine or a jet propulsion unit, powered by an engine, such as an internal combustion engine.
Generally, a white stern navigation light illuminates at least an area of a stern portion of the boat. Such illumination makes the area more visible and indicates the boat's presence to other boats. Hence, for safety and ease of marine navigation, many jurisdictions require use of white stern lights during harsh weather, poor visibility and/or from about sunset to about sunrise. However, many boats having outboard motors are unable to comply with such requirements due to lack of on-board electrical systems capable of powering such lights for extended periods of time. Such non-compliance reduces safety, makes marine navigation difficult and/or exposes boat operators to risk of governmental fines and/or other penalties.
Some have attempted to commercialize on such non-compliance by introducing various cowlings specifically molded to incorporate stern lights. However, the cowling configurations are inconvenient to install and often cost-prohibitive for boat owners who would like to retrofit their current outboard motors. As a result, many boat owners, unsatisfied with such cowling configurations, resort to other measures.
One of such measures is making a hole in a hull of the boat and inserting a navigation staff with a stern light secured on its tip into the hole. However, such setup suffers from various disadvantages. For example, the presence of the hole is undesirable due to resulting modification of the hull's integrity, unaesthetic appearance and/or water leakage. Furthermore, such positioning of the staff interferes with stationing of the stern light out of the away of boat occupants, while keeping the stern light sufficiently elevated above the water to be seen by others external to the boat. Moreover, the positioning of the staff makes putting away the stern light when not in use inconvenient and/or burdensome to boat operators. Additionally, when the staff is removed from the hole, the staff occupies valuable boat space and can be broken, stepped on, lost or fallen overboard.
While certain aspects of conventional technologies have been discussed to facilitate the present disclosure, no technical aspects are disclaimed. The claims may encompass one and/or more of the conventional technical aspects discussed herein.